Not all the Simply Food outlets are making money, it is reported

The Mail on Sunday reported that M&S was in talks with rivals such as Waitrose about the possible sale of some of the stores.

"We are not planning to close any of our stores. We are actively looking for sites," said an M&S spokeswoman.

One or two underperforming stores could be sold in the future, she added.

The Mail on Sunday report said M&S was having to pay too-high rents for the shops in question, and that shoppers were not spending enough.

First launched in 2001, M&S now has 87 Simply Food outlets across the UK.

They are located on High Streets and at railway stations and airports.

M&S is continuing with efforts to turn itself around after it fought off a hostile takeover attempt in the summer by retail tycoon Philip Green, the owner of BHS and Arcadia.

On 6 November the retailer admitted that trading conditions were still tough, and that for the six months to 2 October, its pre-tax profits were down to �292.7m ($543m) from �325m a year earlier.